Labour Government Sets its Sights on “Partnership” with India
Following the visit of
Bill Clinton to the Indian sub-continent at the end of March, the Labour
government has sent Foreign Secretary Robin Cook to follow in his footsteps.
Robin Cook stated that
the starting point of his visit “is that India is set to be a 21st century
power”. He said that an Indo-British partnership would be one based on modern
economics, community, cultural and development ties. Robin Cook had bilateral
talks with the Indian Foreign Minister, Jaswant Singh. They established an
“Indo/British Round Table”, inaugurated on Tuesday by the two foreign
ministers, and, in the words of Jaswant Singh, “a non-government forum
composed of distinguished men and women from the two countries who will suggest
ways and means for reinvigorating our historic bilateral relations”.
Whereas, the Clinton
visit was said to establish the US and India as “partners in peace,” with
“a common interest in and complementary responsibility for ensuring regional
and international security”, with the visit of Robin Cook, Britain and India
are said to be “natural partners for the 21st century”.
It is clear that both
these visits have been taking place in the context both of the aim of the US to
dominate Asia, as part of its drive to establish a unipolar world under its
hegemony, and of the aim of Britain to become ‘great’ again and become
strong in the world, especially by renewing its old colonial ties, as well as by
becoming the leading player in Europe.
However, both the US and
Britain are having to recognise in the pursuit of their aims the new realities
in Asia, and to put in place suitable arrangements taking this into account at
the commencement of the 21st century. India's emerging major role cannot be
ignored, especially as regards its size, its population, and its expertise as
regards the “knowledge-based economy”, as well as its geopolitical role
within the Asian powers as a whole.
In this connection, Robin
Cook pointed out on Monday that India's economy “is on track to join the
world’s top 10 early in this century and its influence will put it at all top
tables in the international community”. In the press conference given by the
two foreign ministers, Robin Cook also backed India for a permanent seat on the
UN Security Council, saying that “Britain sees India as a natural contender
for permanent membership of the Security Council”.
Commentators have pointed
out that, much like the US, Britain is now seeking to engage India in a spirit
distinctly different from May 1998, referring to the time when its nuclear tests
became a hotly contested issue. They have also drawn attention to the fact that
Britain has found less and less reason to remain indifferent to India,
especially when US imperialism has appeared extremely keen to engage India.
In this vein, Robin Cook
at the press conference said that although Britain and India have what he
referred to as “much shared history from the centuries of the past” – in
other words, a bloody history in which India was the “jewel in the crown” of
the British Empire, and was bequeathed an onerous legacy in terms of British
colonial values and institutions – nevertheless, the future was one of
“partnership”, “based on our modern ties, a modern partnership between two
modernising countries”. He pointed out that Britain is the largest foreign
investor in India, and that Britain is one of India’s largest trading
partners. This was the issue of “economic ties”. Then there are the
“community ties”, and Robin Cook referred to the millions of “Britons of
Indian descent” which are a “pillar of our economy in Britain”. Thirdly,
the “cultural ties”, where “Britain is host to thousands of Indian
students and we aim to rapidly expand their numbers over the next five years”.
Finally, he referred to what he called “our development ties”. He said,
“Britain’s largest development programme in the world is here in India, over
the next three years we plan to increase it even more from £100 million per
year to £150 million per year”.
It can be said that these
arrangements which Robin Cook is now working to put in place with India are not
simply a recognition that India is becoming a major player, and that
“partnership” rather than colonial domination is now the name of the game.
They are also part of the arrangements which the big powers are establishing,
consistent with the reactionary programme of the “Third Way” – under which
they are pursuing the anti-social offensive and globalisation – in the
circumstances where the bi-polar division of the world has collapsed and new
equilibriums need to be established by them.
In this regard, it could
be counted as significant – and could well be more than a coincidence – that
while Robin Cook was in India, Russian President-Elect Putin was in Britain. To
pursue its “enlightened self- interest” in Asia, Britain must ensure its
relationship with both these enormous states, and as appropriate play one off
against the other.
It should also be
mentioned that on the question of Kashmir, of “terrorism”, of “nuclear
non-proliferation”, the Foreign Secretary followed closely the positions
adopted by Bill Clinton on his visit, which was in a nutshell to support the
Indian positions on these questions.
What is also common to
the programme being pursued by the Labour government, as well as Clinton, is
that the movement of the people for a new world, for a new society where their
concerns are put at the centre, is completely erased from the equation.